The Bureau of Statistics has extended the enumeration exercise for the 2012 census and will continue work until month end with the aim of completing the population count.
Chief Census Officer Lennox Benjamin said that “…the concept of the census is that there should be a total count, therefore the enumeration period would be brought to a close when the enumerators have completed a total count of the resident population.”
According to a press release, the enumeration exercise started on Census Day, September 15, and was projected to last for an initial period of six weeks. “The six-week time frame was an administrative decision based on best estimates at the time and was not a legal requirement for the conduct of the Census,” Benjamin said. The census officer has the freedom to extend the period in the interest of the quality of the exercise, the release added.
The enumeration exercise is moving apace in many areas but challenges remain in remote areas of regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine and in pockets of densely populated areas, especially in Region Four.
The prevailing sunny weather made travel to remote locations easy; however, in some areas the low rainfall caused considerably reduced water levels in rivers and creeks, making crossing along some of the waterways difficult.
Also, in some sections of Region Four, there is a significant number of “call back” requests and there also remains embedded pockets of reluctance to cooperate with enumerators. In many of these areas management teams were required to make visits to support enumerators experiencing difficulty. On the other hand, there are many areas where the enumerators have benefited from the activities of community leaders who have educated their fellow residents about the process.
To date, four of the ten regions are about 90 per cent complete. Regions two and five have completed the exercise and Region Six is also effectively complete with a finishing rate of 99% with just a small number of rechecks to be finalised in both. Likewise, Region Nine is 95.7% completed with just one very remote location now being accessed by a team from the head office which will conclude the exercise. Region 10 is 82.9% completed, with work in progress to complete the outstanding riverain areas/communities in the shortest possible time. All other areas, including Region Four are about 75% complete.
The release said completed forms have also been arriving at the Bureau’s main offices so that the second phase; the editing and coding of the completed questionnaires, has simultaneously started, for which an additional complement of 81 temporary staff members were trained.
